Building Bridges

There are some wild animals that when trapped will chew off their own limbs in order to escape. A few years back a mountain climber found himself faced with a similar situation when he became pinned under a boulder while canyoneering. At the office hopefully you and your colleagues are never faced with such an extreme situation.

What you might experience at work is the colleague who has been so boisterous about taking a stand on a specific issue that she feels she cannot change her mind. If she changes her mind she is worried that she will damage her credibility. So she clings to her position even when it becomes clear that clinging to her position is illogical. In the workplace she is very close to the political equivalent of chewing off her own arm in order to escape.

Now you can decide to either help your colleague make a smooth transition to a new position or you can make her feel trapped or backed into a corner. To help her make a smooth transition you want to build her a golden bridge. You want to make it attractive and reasonable for her to change her position.

Some of the ways that you can do this include:

Involve her in designing a new solution, make sure you allow her to express her concerns over the solution and seek to address those concerns

Ask her to review any proposed solutions and ask her to provide constructive criticism

Help her save face, this could involve allowing her to champion the new approach or even mean allowing her to take credit for the new approach

Help her create a communication plan that outlines why this new approach has her stamp of approval and why she believes this new approach is a win

What you do NOT want to do is push her. The more you push, the more she will resist. It is much easier to walk across the bridge together than it is to drag or carry her across the bridge.

Margaret Meloni supports professionals as they deal with those random systems called human beings. Her clients master the technical and the human side of the workplace. Margaret helps
project managers to successfully navigate the human side of the project world by
providing soft skills training which takes concepts from theory to reality.
eLearning4PMs is not just about
learning it is about learning and doing.

Disclaimer: Blog contents express the viewpoints of their independent authors and
are not reviewed for correctness or accuracy by
Toolbox for IT. Any opinions, comments, solutions or other commentary
expressed by blog authors are not endorsed or recommended by
Toolbox for IT
or any vendor. If you feel a blog entry is inappropriate,
click here to notify
Toolbox for IT.

It takes more than technology to get ahead, it takes people smarts too. Let's explore the human side of technology! This blog will ...
more

It takes more than technology to get ahead, it takes people smarts too. Let's explore the human side of technology! This blog will tell stories, ask questions and start discussions - all about our professional behavior and professional relationships.
Welcome to 'The Human Side'.
less

Receive the latest blog posts:

Share Your Perspective

Share your professional knowledge and experience with peers. Start a blog on Toolbox for IT today!